The present invention relates to spill-resistant beverage containers, and more particularly to spill-resistant containers incorporating cold plugs.
Spill-resistant containers are widely used for storing liquids in situations where the liquid may spill from an open-top cup. For example, travel mugs have lids or caps that resist accidental spillage of liquid that slosh due to rough road conditions. A drinking hole is provided in the lids or caps through which liquids (e.g., coffee) may be sipped by a person traveling in an automobile, and an air inlet hole is provided that admits air to replace the volume of fluid sipped from the travel mug. Sports bottles are another type of spill-resistant container that typically includes a screw-on lid having a built-in straw, and a cap for sealing the end of the straw. Some of these sports bottles also have a manually operated pop-up air intake vent that admits air to replace the volume of fluid drawn through the straw.
Sippy cups are a third type of spill-resistant container typically made for children. Sippy-cups include a cup body and a screw-on or snap-on lid having a drinking spout molded thereon. A rubber or spring-loaded self-sealing outlet valve is provided in some sippy cups to control the flow of fluid through the drinking spout. The lid often includes an air inlet port (vent) formed to admit air into the cup body to replace the volume of fluid sipped or sucked through the drinking spout, and a rubber or spring-loaded self-sealing air inlet control valve is sometimes provided to prevent spillage through the air inlet.
A deficiency with conventional spill-resistant containers is that the plastic wall forming the cup is a poor insulator. Accordingly, cool liquid beverages placed in conventional spill-resistant containers become warm over a short period of time, thereby making the beverage less desirable and increasing the possible growth of bacteria.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,022, entitled xe2x80x9cRefrigerated Bicycle Beverage Carrierxe2x80x9d, discloses a spill-resistant beverage container including a plastic flask having a mouth for dispensation of a beverage at one end and a central axial opening at the opposite end. To maintain beverages inserted therein at low temperatures, an elongated hollow core (cold plug) is inserted into the central axial opening of the flask. The core has a blind end located within the flask and an access end adapted to receive refrigerant at the central axial opening. The core is filled with a refrigerant, such as a mixture of propylene glycol and water, and is sealed to the flask by ultrasonic welding.
A problem with the spill-resistant beverage container disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,022 is that the elongated hollow core is subjected to high shearing forces when the container is dropped or otherwise jarred. These shearing forces can cause cracks at the access end of the hollow core that can lead to leakage of the refrigerant into the flask, thereby contaminating the beverage stored therein.
The potential leakage problem associated with the refrigerated beverage container of U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,022 is particularly important when the hollow core is incorporated into a children""s sippy cups described above. In particular, such children""s products must pass rigorous safety tests, including drop/shock testing, before being approved for use.
What is needed is a spill-resistant beverage container including a cold plug that reduces the possibility of refrigerant leakage associated with the prior art. In particular, what is needed is a spill-resistant beverage container including a cold plug that is able to pass the rigorous safety tests applied to children""s products.
The present invention is directed to a spill resistant container (e.g., a sippy cup, travel mug, or sports bottle) including a refrigerant cold plug supported by a flange that is secured to or integrally formed on a body of the container. The support flange reinforces a base of the cold plug such that lateral movement of the cold plug is resisted by the flange. By reinforcing the cold plug in this manner, the cold plug remains securely attached to the container body during rigorous safety testing, thereby allowing the spill resistant container to resist refrigerant leakage.
In accordance with a first disclosed embodiment, a spill resistant container includes a cup-shaped body having a bottom wall, which defines a central opening, and a support flange integrally molded to bottom wall such that the support flange surrounds the central opening and extends upward from the bottom wall into the beverage storage chamber defined by the cup-shaped body. A cold plug structure includes a tube-shaped body enclosing a refrigerant and having a closed end that extends through the central opening into the beverage storage chamber. A base of the cold plug structure is secured to the bottom wall of the cup body, and a cap is secured over an open end of the tube-shaped body to seal the refrigerant therein. The support flange provides a rigid support for the tube-shaped body that resists displacement of the cold plug caused by dropping or otherwise jarring the container, thereby preventing cracks that can cause leakage of the refrigerant into the beverage storage chamber.
In accordance with a second disclosed embodiment, a spill resistant container includes a cup-shaped body having a bottom wall defining a central opening, a cap structure including a support flange that extends through the central opening when the lower cap is mounted on the bottom wall of the cup-shaped body, and a cold plug structure mounted in the beverage storage chamber over the support flange and secured to the bottom wall. The cold plug structure includes a tube-shaped body enclosing a refrigerant and having a closed end that extends into the beverage storage chamber. A base of the cold plug structure is secured to the bottom wall of the cup body such that the cap structure seals the refrigerant therein. As in the first embodiment, the support flange provides a rigid support that resists displacement of the cold plug, thereby preventing cracks that can cause leakage of the refrigerant. However, the second embodiment replaces the integral support flange of the first embodiment, which can be difficult to produce using standard molding techniques, with the cap structure that is relatively easy to produce and assemble.
The present invention will be more fully understood in view of the following description and drawings.